Kakuleyo O Pore Guardian

The Pore is the formation of the Senufo of which, with the exception of initiates, only a few general aspects are known. Although the society of the Porus would have been created by the Toma It would have spread rapidly to other communities in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast. Thus, the initiatic society of the pore It organized and led the life of both the community and the people of both sexes. It comprises seven-year cycles for the further development of the person's formation until his death, the first three being the most important. The first, the kworo is a pre-nup phase that prepares young people to access the responsibilities of the adult world. The child, from the age of seven, learns some domestic and field tasks and is initiated in the first words of secret society. A secret language of communication between members that overlaps with the daily language during the Pore activities and that only initiates know. A second phase, the dain The adolescent must participate in certain collective tasks, participate in ritual festivals, progress in the esoteric language and make personal sacrifices. Through the phase of tcholo the young person will receive a more intellectual formation. He will be revealed a number of secrets, acquire philosophical and theological knowledge and deepen the meaning of life. During this period, vocational education will begin and social contacts will be increased. Finally the kafforo completes the initiation that allows access to the society of masks. The new Pore member will pay an annual contribution to his society from which he will receive all the necessary help and especially that of the “great teachers” until he reaches supreme knowledge. Upon his death, the members of the Pore will offer their funerals in which their great sculptures will appear.”pombibele“ Each cycle ends with the organization of great public festivals and the presence of masks.

Initiation takes place in the sacred forest, synzanga, far from the village and protected from the eyes of the profane. To reach it, one must cross a narrow road full of mud symbolically representing the womb of Katyeleo, the protective divinity of the village.

Kakuleyo is the guard that protects the accesses to the sacred forest where the initiations of the pore take place. This piece is made of very heavy wood and very hard. It belonged to the father of the antiquarian Senegalese, also antiquarian, Mamadou Maremma Diop, who also inherited it from his father, so it must be placed in the first third of the century XX or end of XIX. It is a very rare piece, of which very few are known in the world and of the known none of this antiquity. Time skate.